Indulgence
by lovetasmania98
Summary: AU. Elena is a literature student at Fell University. When her boyfriend turns into an abusive maniac almost overnight, she slowly spends more time away from home, at Le Mystic Cafe. Can the new employee at Le Mystic, Damon Salvatore, gain Elena's trust and help her leave her old life behind? Hot chocolate, heart to heart sessions and hidden secrets ensue.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Well, this is my first TVD fic. I know it reads pretty slow, but I will promise you that if you stick with me, it'll get better. It has to. For your sake and mine. :) Enjoy and feel free to drop me a review! **

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Not the characters, not the show, not Ian Somerhalder... *sob***

**Induglence**

Hot chocolate. The beverage that I turned to when the world turned against me. The once a week indulgence that I still kept hidden because _he_ said it was fattening. The temporary solution to all my problems. The one constant in my ever fluctuating life. And no, it wasn't just any hot chocolate. Not the one from the cheap plastic bottles, not the one from the packets.

This was the real stuff, just the right consistency, temperature, with just the perfect amount of fluffy whipped cream to crown it. And there was only one place you could get it.

I pushed open the door below the dangling wooden sign that read, 'Le Mystic Cafe'. A small silver bell against the door jangled to announce my presence. Well, at least someone- some_thing_ noticed my existence, I thought bitterly, looking at the tiny bell with a sigh.

I simply stood in the entrance of the cafe for a moment, revelling in the various rich, sweet aromas that had begun to assault my nostrils the moment I pulled the door open.

Le Mystic Cafe was one of those places that you could only imagine to exist in a desolate corner of a quaint Italian village with cobbled roads and winding alleyways. Definitely not your typical Starbucks type of scene. And yet, it sat (proud and not very visited) merely a convenient two blocks away from my college, Fell University.

The owner, Luciana Salvatore, was an archaic woman with kind eyes and a soft corner for her limited, but loyal customers.

The whole vibe of the cafe was, well, _homey._ It was all wood panels and squashy armchairs so comfortable they should have been illegal. The employees were usually dressed in simple black button downs with jeans. Casual, convenient and comfortable.

Luciana was busy attending to another customer, but the moment she spotted me walking in, she shot me a radiant smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling with the intensity. That's another thing about Le Mystic. The cosy atmosphere immediately wrapped around you like a protective blanket, shielding you from the world, even if only temporarily.

I walked over to the counter and aimlessly allowed my eyes to rake over the menu taped to the wooden surface. It was hopeless, though. I always ended up ordering the same thing, every week. It was my comfort drink. My escape. From everything. From the world, from him. His constant scathing comments about my appearance, his sudden mood swings, the way he would lovingly caress my cheek one moment, only to viciously slap it the next-

No, I wasn't allowed to think about him now. When I entered Le Mystic, I shut out reality. So that for that short period of tranquility, it was only me, my hot chocolate from heaven, surrounded by some of the saner people in the world.

"What can I get you, sweetheart?"

I was jerked out of my wandering train of thought by a sleek male voice that completely threw me off guard. I looked up from the counter and was met with a new face; a strong jawline, perfectly sculpted lips, tousled raven locks and features that would give any Greek God a run for his money.

Forget all that for a moment. Any other part of his face paled in comparison when my eyes met his. The azure of the sky, the tumultuous waves, the crystalline glaciers...nothing. They were _nothing _on the perfection of the cerulean hue that was this man's eyes.

He coughed, uncomfortable. I realised that I had probably been staring at him in awed silence for quite a while now. Who could blame me? He was like a living, breathing sculpture. My cheeks immediately flushed. Well, damage done. I might as well just order what I came here for instead of subjecting myself to further humiliation.

"Um...hot-" I started, my voice raspy. As I cleared my throat, I mentally smacked myself. Really? You just _had _to stop there? "I mean, one hot chocolate, please," I said lamely, blushing like there was no tomorrow.

The man, who had first been watching my struggles with a more than slightly amused expression, was now grinning like a cheshire cat. "Good choice. You look like you could use a pick - me - up." He proclaimed, smirking, while my heart joined the cheerleading squad and started to do some pretty impressive flips.

He turned around, his back towards me. And a very fine back it was. _Snap out of it, Elena. You can't just blatantly check people out like that. You have a boyfriend. _

Yeah. Some boyfriend _he_ was. I pushed those thoughts away for the moment and allowed my focus to return to my beverage. I watched as the man added the finishing touches to the drink and pulled out the whipped cream. He added a generous dollop, but he didn't stop there. He grabbed another bottle and I watched in horror as he drizzled something else onto the whipped cream.

Woah. Wait there. He might have the face of a smoking hot angel, but anyone who messed with Elena Gilbert's hot chocolate had a reserved seat in _hell_. As he turned back to face me, my apprehension must have been evident on my face, for he was quick to reassure me.

"Relax," he said, rolling his eyes. "I know it's not the usual, but I think caramel adds a little.._something_ to it. Try it out. I think you'll like it." He winked at me then, causing me to grab the proffered hot chocolate off the counter, ducking my head with a mumbled thanks.

I retreated to my habitual corner of the cafe, the perfect place to hide myself and my utter mortification. Who _was _he? He was definitely new here. Believe me, I'm pretty sure I would remember a face like that. I looked back at the counter and saw him attending to another one of Le Mystic's regulars, Matt Donovan.

Almost as if he sensed me looking at him, he turned towards me and flashed me a bright smile that only did wonders to his already perfect visage. The looks on this man were just downright unfair. I blinked hard and dropped my gaze. This was getting overwhelming. I needed to focus on something else. Anything else.

I lifted the cup to my lips and let the sweet, delicious aroma of sublimity wash over me. Ah. Perfect. Just what I needed. I was curious to know how the new addition to my hot chocolate would turn out so I took a long, slow, tentative sip.

I swallowed the mouthful in silence and stared down at the cup in front of me. Though I hadn't noticed it before, the caramel was like the missing piece to the puzzle that was this beverage. It made it whole. Pure. _Complete. _Its innocent sweetness only accentuated what I had thought to be the epitome of drinks. Before I knew it, I had polished off the entire mug in a few gulps, and I could literally feel the chocolatey goodness coursing through my veins, refreshing me.

I looked towards the counter discreetly, and found myself staring right into his eyes. Had he been watching me this entire time? I offered him a tiny, faltering smile and his omnipresent smirk only magnified. His eyebrows raised, his eyes twinkled and he mouthed, "You're welcome."

My smile was anything but small this time.


	2. Chapter 2

_One week ago:_

I cringed as the door slammed shut, announcing his arrival home. I could usually gauge his mood from the first few seconds of him entering the house. It could go one of two ways.

On a good day, he would stride in, sweep me off my feet and kiss me senseless. After dinner, we would curl up on the couch, my head in his lap as we watched whatever chick flick was running on the television. Those were the days when I caught a glimmer of the man I fell in love with.

On a _bad _day, he would pick a fight the moment he closed the door. He would say the most horrible things, criticising my looks, my cooking, even the way I made love to him. Of course, he would wake up the next morning, contrite, and would apologise profusely.

Ironically, it was his honesty that I had fallen in love with that was now the bane of my existence.

Sighing, I realised that today wasn't going to be one of the better days.

"Elena? Elena, where the hell are you?"

Steeling myself to remain calm, I ran down the stairs, a horrible parody of your typical housewife welcoming her husband after a long, hard day of work.

"Kol, honey, how was your day? You look tired. Don't worry, you just go on ahead and sit down at the table. I made bruschetta, your favourite," I continued to ramble on as I tried to slip past him to the kitchen.

He caught my wrist before I could go any further and pulled me towards him. He wound one arm around my waist, while the other hand grabbed my chin hard enough to leave bruises. Leaning in, he brushed his lips against mine, gently, before trailing his mouth downwards to pepper kisses all the way down the column of my neck.

I tangled one hand in his hair and closed my eyes, visibly relaxing under his touch. Coming up, Kol tilted my chin upwards, capturing my lips in his, teasing my mouth open, the kiss quickly crossing the line between chaste and passionate.

And just as suddenly as it had all started, it ended. Kol tore his lips from mine, gazing into my eyes with an expression that sent shivers running through my body. It wasn't rage, no, I had seen _that _one enough times to recognise it. But it wasn't love either. He grabbed my wrists and held them between us.

" I saw you today."

Shit. This could be bad.

"I thought you were at work today, didn't you have that meeting to attend?"

"It got cancelled. So I thought I could pick my girlfriend up from college, but you were already walking away. With a guy. Who was he, Elena?"

"Kol, that was nothing. He's just a classmate, we're working on an assignment together." I smiled reassuringly at him, while inside, I was expecting the worst with bated breath.

"He _touched _you, Elena. He put his arm around your shoulders. Does that mean _nothing_ to you?" His grip on my wrists tightened, as he pushed his face closer to mine.

I recognised this expression now. Jealousy. Manic jealousy.

"Kol, you're hurting me. Let go of me." I tried to pull my wrists away from him, but he was unyielding.

"No, Elena, I will never let go of you. You're mine, do you hear me? Tell him to keep his hands off of you."

"You're overreacting, Kol. And you don't _own_ me."

In retrospect, this was probably the last thing I should have said. But at that moment, I was scared, defensive and bordering on exasperated.

I recognised my mistake when I saw the dangerous glint in his eyes.

" _I'm _overreacting? Oh, so it's fine for any random guy to throw himself all over you? Or maybe you _like _it?"

He pushed against the nearest wall and I gasped as my back slammed against the surface.

"Kol, stop it."

"Isn't what we have enough for you? Don't I give you everything? It's never enough for you, is it?"

He wasn't shouting. Why wasn't he shouting? His voice was almost predatory. Soft, sleek, with the edge of the sharpest knife.

"It's not enough, is it? You want more, right?"

All of a sudden, he reached around and tangled his hand in my hair and yanked hard. I inhaled sharply, before he crushed his lips to mine, not with passion, nor with lust. I could feel the rage rolling off of him and I whimpered into his mouth.

He pinned me to the wall with his torso, his arms on either side of my face, a cruel barricade. He continued to kiss me, viciously, with the intensity and primality of an...animal. As he tried to force his tongue past my lips, I turned my head to the side to protest.

In a flash, his hand came up and grabbed my throat, stilling me.

"Kol," I choked out, my eyes widening with every second that he refused to yield.

"How about that? Is _that _enough for you, Elena? Because I could give you so much more."

Tears began to leak out of the corners of my eyes. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Kol, please-" My eyes fluttered closed, the lack of oxygen rendering me incapable of keeping them open.

Suddenly, his hand fell away and the air rushed into my lungs. I gasped, sucking in large breaths. I slid to the floor, massaging my throat, the feel of his hand around it still lingering.

Kol stood rooted to the spot, chest heaving, eyes flashing as if he was waiting for me to say something. Abruptly, he turned on his heel, strode to the door and yanked it open. With a resounding slam, he was gone.

I curled up sideways on the floor, my arms wrapping around my knees in a weak attempt to ward off the shivers coursing through my body.

Shock. That's what I was feeling. Or was it fear? An array of emotions blurred into one another hit me with the force of a tidal wave. Consuming, taking and disorienting. I could hear his words as if he was stalking around in a desolate corner of my brain.

_I will never let go of you._

_You're mine._

I couldn't deal with this anymore. I needed to get out of here. The only question that remained was, _how?_


End file.
